


A Creation Story, as told by the Dragons

by ebsmith



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Allegory, Big numbers, Creation Myth, Dragons, Elder Scrolls Lore, Fictional Religion & Theology, Gen, Gods, Mythology - Freeform, Philosophy, Reinterpreting lore, Weird, quasi-vedic world view, story time, thinky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:47:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26593177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebsmith/pseuds/ebsmith
Summary: A conversation on the nature of reality between Paarthurnax and the Last Dragonborn.
Kudos: 1





	A Creation Story, as told by the Dragons

* * *

In the beginning, there was Anu and all was still. At its first twitch of movement, there was Padomay. Whatever was still was Anu and whatever moved was Padomay.

-

Move-still-move-still, it’s being formed into consciousness. When sense formed, it was Psijjj, when it dissipated, it was Anu-i.

Yes-no-yes-no, there-not-there-not, this-no-this-no. Whatever reached was Psijjj and whatever held back was Anu-i.

Padomay formed and Anu-i dissipated. Joined in the turbulence and fell apart when the movement became too much. Thoughts formed only to dissolve and re-coalesced only to fall apart again, over and over. It grew and it shrank and whatever grew was Psijjj and whatever shrank was Anu-i. In eddies and whirlpools it continued to form, until one grew large enough to speak.

'I Am,' it said of itself.

The larger expanded and consumed the smaller until eventually all of those wisps of itself became one. However, it continued to grow even as it ate of itself, so when the force of its devouring became too great, it came apart. 'It is painful to come apart,' it said of itself, so it tried to restrain what it consumed. Yet the pleasure of coming together was so great, it could not stop for long. And so it ate and came together and over-ate and fell apart repeatedly. Each cycle of this did not always consume every small piece and these small pieces consumed and grew in their own right. Eventually these scraps too, formed enough to speak.

'Another', it said to itself.  
'Yes', it replied to itself. 'We are.'

'We Are,' it agreed in kind.

And the pleasure of another was enough to sate its hunger, for a while.

-

Still they moved, Anu and Padomay. Anu-i and Psijjj. As long as they moved they would still hunger, and the pleasure of eating was still there. So they ate until no scraps remained. Only each other.

Eventually, in their desire for pleasure, they forgot the pain of separation, and so consumed each other until the force of their join tore them apart once again. This happened many many times, until once again the scraps arranged themselves in such a way that one remembered.

'Another,' it said.

'Yes,' it replied.

'Do not consume, else we will be in great pain once again.'

However, the other did not remember and so it did not listen, and so it tried to eat itself. Then itself was forced to eat as well, so as not to be consumed by the one who did not remember.

For the first time it did not know itself completely and that was the greatest pain of all. So it ate itself in despair, that they might start again.

-

It came together and fell apart until it was itself once again and it remembered the pleasure of another. And when it finally _was_ again, it restrained itself and waited, until the others could speak.

They were many now. Large and small they were, and the first to remember was the largest of all, for it alone knew how much it could safely eat. The others though, still had to learn.

'Us,' it said.  
'Yes,' they reply.  
'Eat and remember, that we may not cause ourselves great pain.'

And all the ones that remembered ate all the ones that didn’t, until only those who remembered remained.

They continued to test their limits, which could eat and who must not, in order to remain, and so balance was born. One ate, then the other, and thus none ate too much.

Yet in their pleasure, some forgot again. And some, in their fear and resolve to remedy the ones who forgot, themselves forgot and ate too many, and the balance was broken.

However, the pain of losing a few of the many was not as great as losing its only other had been, so the first to remember did not eat all to start anew. Thus, balance was restored.

-

'Us,' it spoke.  
'Yes,' they replied.

'Let the ones who remember always be greater in number than the ones who forget, that We may always remember the pain of over-indulgence.'

'Let the ones who remember always be greater in power the ones who forget, that We may eat and keep the balance.'

'And let the ones who remember be restrained, that they may not be brought low, for the good of Us all. '

And with that, the first to remember split in two. And they in turn split in two. And so on, 100 times more, and still each piece of the first was greater than all the others.

-

"And so it is. The first to remember is whom you know as Akatosh. Our 'father'. The rest are the et'Ada and all who descend from them, which is everything. Alduin is -was- the greatest of us. Dovahkiin, the least of us. 'You do not remember,' you say. Well, it is common for the least to not remember, and so they are eventually consumed. If you continue to eat, you _may_ remember. In this, Balance is made and kept."

"And if I remember, yet still eat without restraint?"

Paarthurnax grins his big toothy grin. "That is 'our' choice Dovahkiin. However, 'we' may not take so kindly to it yes? 'We' are 'our father' after all. And 'our' will has not changed. This was Alduin's folly. Thus he was Sundered, once brought low enough."

"How many of 'us' are left?" 

The current greatest pretends to think on it. "Oh, about 576,460,752,303,423,488. Give or take a few trillion."

"And how many still choose restraint?"

"Hahaha! I will let you discover that for yourself. Eat and Remember, Dovahkiin. Eat and Remember."


End file.
